Electric cars

[MrCurry]

Wonder if these things will ever catch on. Looks like an updated Sinclair C5

Nimbus launches a tiny EV prototype that’s like a motorbike with a roof – TechCrunch

Nimbus

“We don’t have to pass these stringent, very expensive and lengthy processes for getting our vehicles certified,” Nong said.

He seems fucking happy that he’s found a loophole in which he doesn’t have the trouble of meeting all those bothersome safety standards. I wonder how happy about that his first customer to get run over by a truck will be.

 

[Hollis]

"Besides the standard driver’s airbag and a high-strength steel frame, we’ve added onboard cameras and AI to sense other vehicles and prevent collisions, and proprietary vehicle stability technology to make driving worry-free."

Still probably safer than riding a bike around town.

 

[T & P]

Wonder if these things will ever catch on. Looks like an updated Sinclair C5

Nimbus launches a tiny EV prototype that’s like a motorbike with a roof – TechCrunch

Nimbus

Room for two.

I wonder how the anti-car Taliban brigade feels about such contraptions. Some of them are already in a muddle about electric motorbikes...

 

[MickiQ]

It looks rather cute actually, not really suitable for me but I am sure it will find a market. I can remember the Sinclair C5 (nearly got run over by one of the fuckers outside the pub once) and they were a lot dodgier than this but I saw people riding them in commuter traffic.

 

[Leafster]

There's something similar from a company called Carver.

I sat in one and it's more or less just an enclosed 3 wheeler motorbike. I could have had a test drive but I don't think I'd ever need one and was a bit worried about the tilt!

Homepage - Carver

A new form of mobility Carver as a business vehicle Green and sustainable The Carver and Carver Cargo are the sustainable alternatives for all your business trips or deliveries. All...

carver.earth

 

[urbanspaceman]

And here is another small EV, which might be a bit more capable, and which I think is pretty cute

Home

The Microlino is a space-saving, electric bubble car with: Two seats, range of up to 230 km, 12.5 kW power and top speed of 90 km/h.

microlino-car.com

Microlino opens configurator for its adorable electric microcar to 30,000 reservation holders

One little Swiss microcar (technically a quadricycle) has made a disproportionately sized splash. The pint-sized four-wheeled electric vehicle known as the Microlino may be petite, but it’s got a long line forming out the door counting over 30,000 reservation holders. And today the company...

electrek.co

 

[hash tag]

Oh dear

 

[MrCurry]

Oh dear
View attachment 327274

Fords have always had dodgy electrics haven’t they, so no surprise they’re not the company to choose in the era of the electric car.

 

[hash tag]

Unfortunately, the E-mach was being feted as one of the more exciting electric cars.
I got a black cab last night ( first time since I can remember ). It was electric. The driver loved it even though the range was appalling.
He said he used regenerative braking, and obviously all driving was in town and he said he got just 55 miles on a charge
Could certainly feel the take off in the back, it had a very fast pull away, so maybe his driving style effected the range?

 

[alex_]

Unfortunately, the E-mach was being feted as one of the more exciting electric cars.
I got a black cab last night ( first time since I can remember ). It was electric. The driver loved it even though the range was appalling.
He said he used regenerative braking, and obviously all driving was in town and he said he got just 55 miles on a charge
Could certainly feel the take off in the back, it had a very fast pull away, so maybe his driving style effected the range?

The electric cabs are hybrid so have a small battery.

 

[hash tag]

The electric cabs are hybrid so have a small battery.

There was no mention of it being hybrid and nothing to indicate it was.

 

[Nivag]

Unfortunately, the E-mach was being feted as one of the more exciting electric cars.
I got a black cab last night ( first time since I can remember ). It was electric. The driver loved it even though the range was appalling.
He said he used regenerative braking, and obviously all driving was in town and he said he got just 55 miles on a charge
Could certainly feel the take off in the back, it had a very fast pull away, so maybe his driving style effected the range?

55 miles in London is covering a lot of distance if only staying within zone 1, as mentioned its a hybrid setup so the longer journeys the ICE kicks in.

 

[alex_]

There was no mention of it being hybrid and nothing to indicate it was.

If it was 55 miles that’s a terrible range for an all electric.

 

[MrCurry]

I was on a motorway yesterday and a Tesla was lingering on a slip road as we approached - it was doing no more than 20-30 mph waiting for a gap. Suddenly it took off like a rocket ship and slotted into the gap in front of us perfectly. Presumably this was autopilot in operation and it made use of the full acceleration available, which was considerable.

Those Teslas must munch through tyres though, driving like that. It was like a dragster.

 

[T & P]

55 miles in London is covering a lot of distance if only staying within zone 1, as mentioned its a hybrid setup so the longer journeys the ICE kicks in.

One trip to Heathrow and you're buggered, though. Not a very suitable range for a taxi.

 

[hash tag]

EVs do have great acceleration but I still can't get excited by them.

 

[T & P]

Those Teslas must munch through tyres though, driving like that. It was like a dragster.

Maybe that'll be a thing of the past before too long as well...

Could flat tyres soon be a thing of the past?

Airless tyres that do not puncture are getting close to market but some remain sceptical about them.

www.bbc.co.uk

 

[hash tag]

Maybe that'll be a thing of the past before too long as well...

Could flat tyres soon be a thing of the past?

Airless tyres that do not puncture are getting close to market but some remain sceptical about them.

www.bbc.co.uk

No. Tyres still need a decent tread on them to be safe. The wear on the surface will be the same.

 

[MrCurry]

Maybe that'll be a thing of the past before too long as well...

Could flat tyres soon be a thing of the past?

Airless tyres that do not puncture are getting close to market but some remain sceptical about them.

www.bbc.co.uk

Yeah, it’s the tread wear that would be increased by the wild acceleration the BEVs offer. I wonder how much more often Teslas and their ilk replace their tyres compared with normal combustion engined cars.

 

[hash tag]

Yeah, it’s the tread wear that would be increased by the wild acceleration the BEVs offer. I wonder how much more often Teslas and their ilk replace their tyres compared with normal combustion engined cars.

Good point. I'm sure there will be research on this, especially as it would appear to be rubber that is damaging our air more than fumes.

 

[MrCurry]

Good point. I'm sure there will be research on this, especially as it would appear to be rubber that is damaging our air more than fumes.

Is it really? I didn’t know that. I’ve often wondered what happens to all that rubber which gets deposited on the road surface, as even dark wavy lines from boy racer types doing burnouts seem to disappear over time.

 

[hash tag]

It transpires that science has got it all wrong. ICE's are not the worst cause of pollution after all; it is rubber.

Car tyres produce vastly more particle pollution than exhausts, tests show

Toxic particles from tyre wear almost 2,000 times worse than from exhausts as weight of cars increases

www.theguardian.com

Is it really? I didn’t know that. I’ve often wondered what happens to all that rubber which gets deposited on the road surface, as even dark wavy lines from boy racer types doing burnouts seem to disappear over time.

 

[BigTom]

Is it really? I didn’t know that. I’ve often wondered what happens to all that rubber which gets deposited on the road surface, as even dark wavy lines from boy racer types doing burnouts seem to disappear over time.

Yeah, there was a recent article posted a couple of pages back (edit ^^^ that's the one I was thinking of) but it's been known for a long time that particulate pollution comes as much from tyre and brake dust/wear as it does from emissions - more research has shown that it's a bigger proportion that was thought before but it's always been known to be a problem and not one that gets solved by EVs (although they should produce less brake dust as they use regenerative braking for a lot of their braking)

 

[MrCurry]

It transpires that science has got it all wrong. ICE's are not the worst cause of pollution after all; it is rubber.

Car tyres produce vastly more particle pollution than exhausts, tests show

Toxic particles from tyre wear almost 2,000 times worse than from exhausts as weight of cars increases

www.theguardian.com

Wow!

 

[hash tag]

Yeah, there was a recent article posted a couple of pages back (edit ^^^ that's the one I was thinking of) but it's been known for a long time that particulate pollution comes as much from tyre and brake dust/wear as it does from emissions - more research has shown that it's a bigger proportion that was thought before but it's always been known to be a problem and not one that gets solved by EVs (although they should produce less brake dust as they use regenerative braking for a lot of their braking)

Only if the regen braking is switched on. On the company cars, it is optional and I always use it, my colleagues hate it.
If regen braking is used well you barely have to use the regular brakes!

 

[BigTom]

Only if the regen braking is switched on. On the company cars, it is optional and I always use it, my colleagues hate it.
If regen braking is used well you barely have to use the regular brakes!

I didn't know that - why wouldn't they use regenerative braking? It charges the battery doesn't it, which would reduce charging costs? I guess it feels wrong or something, like engine braking feels odd in an ICE vehicle.

 

[hash tag]

I didn't know that - why wouldn't they use regenerative braking? It charges the battery doesn't it, which would reduce charging costs? I guess it feels wrong or something, like engine braking feels odd in an ICE vehicle.

A. it needs to be manually switched on & B. it feels quite odd, takes some getting used to I guess. This is people who are not keen drivers and
don't like driving things slightly different to what they are used to.

 

[DownwardDog]

I was on a motorway yesterday and a Tesla was lingering on a slip road as we approached - it was doing no more than 20-30 mph waiting for a gap. Suddenly it took off like a rocket ship and slotted into the gap in front of us perfectly. Presumably this was autopilot in operation and it made use of the full acceleration available, which was considerable.

Those Teslas must munch through tyres though, driving like that. It was like a dragster.

Teslas come from the factory with very high quality tyres (Michelin Pilot Cup, etc) which last about as long as they would on an ICE car. However some owners replace them with cheap shit and a Tesla will destroy those in short order.

 

[hash tag]

I'm sure I saw an electric car, might have even been a Tesla, broken down on the south circular yesterday.
Is this the EV/ city car we have been waiting for? Microlino

 

[yield]

A new concept for low-cost batteries

MIT engineers designed a battery made from inexpensive, abundant materials, that could provide low-cost backup storage for renewable energy sources. Less expensive than lithium-ion battery technology, the new architecture uses aluminum and sulfur as its two electrode materials with a molten salt...

news.mit.edu

looks interesting